Healing the Trauma of Growing Up Gay
Gay Men Going Deeper
Clarifying Trauma Responses vs. Protectors
Dr. Frank distinguishes fight/flight/freeze/submit trauma responses from protective fawning mechanisms.
In this episode, Matt speaks with world-renowned trauma treatment expert, Harvard-trained psychiatrist, and psychotherapist Dr. Frank Anderson.
Let’s be honest, trauma isn't the most glamorous topic to talk about, but it significantly impacts us as gay men, and our community is in desperate need of healing from the trauma of growing up gay that we each likely experienced. This episode is a raw and real exploration of the impact growing up gay can have on us. Many of us had the pressure and stress of being a young boy and having to carry our big secret on our little shoulders. This pressure likely lasted for decades, and we had to deal with it alone, without support. Remember that you are not alone if you are struggling with this trauma or the dysfunctional behaviours unhealed trauma can cause us to engage in.
Matt and Frank created this episode as a guide to understanding your trauma and how to begin the healing process.
The concepts and questions we explore in this episode are:
- What are the different forms of trauma?
- What causes the trauma of growing up gay?
- What is the traumatic impact of growing up gay?
- How does “parts work” or internal family systems therapy (IFS) heal trauma?
- What are some of the parts gay men have to develop to deal with growing up gay?
- How can we begin to work with our wounded and protector parts to start healing?
- What's required for healing trauma for gay men specifically?
- What does life after trauma look like?
- How can we start to practice forgiveness and transcend our trauma?
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Today's Guest: Dr. Frank Anderson
Today's Host: Matt Landsiedel
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